Updating the kitchen in a Philadelphia home is a viable way to boost its value. Many Philadelphia buildings are quite old (some were built in the 18th and 19th centuries), and you’ll find plenty with old kitchen cabinets from decades ago. Many people assume that they have to overhaul the entire kitchen in order to add value, but refinishing cabinets can be a quick and affordable way to accomplish the same goal. You can have the cabinets professionally refaced, or you can do it yourself as a weekend project. Either method of restoring, renewing, or repairing your existing kitchen cabinets can add to the monetary and aesthetic value of your home if done properly.

Is Cabinet Refacing Right for Your Philadelphia Kitchen?

Before you decide to pursue this project, you must first determine if your cabinets can be refaced. If your cabinets aren’t structurally sound (i.e., if they’re broken, warped, or cracked), you shouldn’t be refacing them. Consider replacing them instead.

If you have wooden cabinet doors you can strip, sand the doors and paint them a new color or choose a thick coating or laminate finish to make them look like new.

How Refinishing Cabinets Saves You Money

The cost of getting the cabinets completely replaced in a standard kitchen can exceed $25,000. Refacing them can save you a considerable amount of money, whether you get it done professionally or make it a DIY project. Having a professional reface your cabinets in a typical kitchen can cost about $10,000 (varies depending on such factors as the materials you choose). Doing it yourself will cost you considerably less money because you save on the labor — all you have to do is buy materials. Depending on the condition of the cabinets, refacing them yourself can be as easy as repainting the existing cabinets and changing the knobs, which could cost just a couple of hundred dollars or less. You may be surprised at how much a fresh coat of paint can change the entire look of your kitchen.

Refacing Can Add Retro “Flair” to Your Kitchen Decor

In many ways, old, classic, and antique is the essence of Philadelphia — many neighborhoods still have the original cobblestones and structures that characterize the “olde city.” So some residents are willing to pay a lot of money to achieve a vintage, retro, or antique look in a Philadelphia home. Refacing your existing kitchen cabinets allows you to achieve this look at a reasonable cost. Instead of visiting a specialty shop and paying top dollar for cabinets with an antique or vintage look, you can simply make subtle changes to your existing cabinets with antiquing glaze and sandpaper.

Say you prefer a more recent retro look, like ’60s or ’70s, just pick bold, bright colors to brighten your kitchen’s decor and recapture the look of those decades at a reasonable cost. Don’t forget to add new knobs or handles from the era — they’re affordable and available in many different attractive styles.

Refinishing cabinets can add value to your home without the considerable investment of time, money, and effort needed for a full-scale makeover. Keep in mind that you can use the money you would’ve spent replacing your entire kitchen on brand-new appliances like an oven, blender, toaster, or microwave to give the room a finished and modern look.

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